Title

Author

Defense Date

2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Jim McMillan

Abstract

This experiment examined decisions made by teachers using only status data with those made by teachers using growth and status data. Middle school math teachers from five schools within a single school division located in Virginia participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to either the status only or growth and status group. They were then asked to analyze a sample set of class data and complete a survey in which they rated the success of four types of students, identified teacher strengths and weaknesses, and rated their confidence in and the usefulness of the data received. Teachers with access to growth and status data differed significantly in their ratings of three of the four types of students. Students with high growth/low achievement were rated more favorably by teachers with growth and status data (p < .05). Students with low growth/high achievement and those with low growth/low achievement were rated less favorably by teachers with access to growth and status data (p < .05). Teachers with access to growth and status data also chose different strengths and weaknesses than those with access to only status data. Teachers did not differ significantly in their confidence in the data or the perceived usefulness of the data, although limitations may have influenced this finding.